Sylvester Stallone's Biggest Box Office Hit Is Actually Pretty Surprising

Sylvester Stallone is, one needn't reiterate, one of the biggest movie stars of his generation. He established himself as an amusing comedic meathead for about a decade, appearing in films like "Death Race 2000" and "The Lords of Flatbush," but Stallone exploded as a legit Hollywood player when he wrote and starred in "Rocky" in 1976. That film made $225 million on a $1.1 million budget, and won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing at the Academy Awards. "Rocky" also codified a new type of sports movie, establishing a formula that is still being effectively wielded to this day. The "Rocky" often topped $200 million at the box office. 

Stallone continued to act and direct, and appeared in the gigantic hit "Rocky" sequels before making "First Blood" in 1982. "First Blood" is a downbeat tragedy of war trauma, but it kicked off a successful franchise of movies that quickly mutated into ultra-violent, pro-military actioners. "First Blood" made over $125 million on its $15 million budget. The sequel, 1985's "Rambo: First Blood Part II," made over $300 million on a $25.5 million budget. Yes, Stallone was, for years, the face of Hollywood blockbusters. 

Weirdly, though, none of the "Rocky" movies nor the "Rambo" movies include Stallone's biggest hit, at least in terms of raw box office dollars. Technically, Stallone's biggest hot movies were "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2" and "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3," which made $869.1 million and $845.6 million, respectively. For the time being, we'll look past those movies, as Stallone only appeared in them in small cameos. 

Not adjusting for inflation, Stallone's biggest hit is none other than the brutal action flick "The Expendables 2," Simon West's ensemble piece from 2012. It made over $312 million at the box office.

One should recall that "The Expendables" was a mere gimmick flick, only made in order to assemble an impressive cast of well-established action stars. Stallone directed the first "Expendables" in 2010, and starred in it alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham, and Dolph Lundgren. Rounding out the cast were Randy Couture, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Steve Austin, and the amazing Gary Daniels. The plot is utter hooey, following a high-octane gaggle of testosterone-soaked mercenaries as they go on missions of violence. It hardly matters what anyone is doing in "The Expendables," as one only wants to see the cast do action stuff. 

The first "Expendables" was a hit, but one could tell — via editing and blue-screen effects — that actors like Willis, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger were never actually on camera together. Also, the action scenes were choppy, robbing audiences of seeing a true ensemble of "badass" actors firing guns next to each other. All of that was rectified in "The Expendables 2." Simon West ("Con Air," "The Mechanic") took over directing duties, and he ensured a greater sense of spatial continuity in action scenes. Visually, it was an improvement. I can't say the same for Stallone's goofy-ass script. 

Also, West filmed scenes of Willis and Schwarzenegger together, careful to stage shots, so one could see they were indeed in the same room. Amusingly, the two swapped their famous catchphrases "I'll be back" and "Yippie-Ki-Yay." 

Also, also, the ensemble of famous badasses was expanded. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Crews, and Couture all returned, but they were joined by Chuck Norris (in a cameo) and the devoted Jean-Claude Van Damme (as the villain). It was the biggest, blow-'em-uppiest movie in years. 

"The Expendables 2" proved to be the furthest one could take the casting gimmick, however. "The Expendables 3" altered the ensemble a bit, and still got an impressive lineup of actors to participate, but audiences were suddenly less interested. Proof: it wasn't quite as big a hit as the previous movie (although it still was a blockbuster). Patrick Hughes' 2014 film made the mistake of assuming audiences cared about Barney Ross, Stallone's character, and the ultimate fate of the Expendables program. 

Stallone, Li, Statham, Lundgren, Couture, and Crews returned, and Schwarzenegger still had a cameo. Antonio Banderas, Kelsey Grammer, and Wesley Snipes joined the team; Harrison Ford has a small role, and Mel Gibson played the villain. Weirdly, with all those actors, "The Expendables 3" focused mainly on a cast of younger characters played by Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, and Victor Ortiz. The story, as with all these movies, wasn't interesting, and the film made $214 million at the box office. 

Don't get me started on the terrible, terrible "Expend4bles." That film, made for $100 million, only made $50 million.

It should be noted in all this that, when adjusted for inflation, Stallone had many better hits. "Rocky" made $1.2 billion in 2025 dollars. "First Blood Part II" and "Rocky III" made about $905 million each. Heck, even "Cobra," when adjusted, made almost $473 million, while 1989's "Tango & Cash" made the 2025 equivalent of $313 million. By these comparisons, "The Expendables 2" is only a minor hit. But if we're just talking about the highest dollar amount, then it still remains Stallone's highest-earning film that he starred in.